Serving as dean of the Florida A&M University College of Law from January 2008 through June 2015, LeRoy Pernell is credited with providing the stability that led to the law school acquiring full accreditation from the American Bar Association in 2009 and full re-accreditation in 2014. He also led efforts to advance the law school’s Academic Success and Bar Preparation Program, resulted in continual improvement in the first-time passage rate on the Florida Bar exam. He plans to return to the faculty in the Fall 2015 semester.
Prior to joining FAMU, Pernell spent 10 years as law dean at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Under his leadership, the NIU law school was recognized nationally for its diversity efforts. He also oversaw the expansion of technology into the classroom, the establishment of the clinical educational program and the opening of the Zeke Giorgi Legal Clinic in Rockford, Illinois
Pernell served as Vice Provost of the Office of Minority Affairs at The Ohio State University (OSU) from 1994 to 1997. He also served as professor at The OSU College of Law from 1975 until leaving for NIU. While at OSU, he was the director of the Council on Legal Education Opportunities (CLEO) Regional Summer Institute and in 1988, a visiting scholar at Columbia University.
Pernell earned his bachelors degree in government from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1971, and received his Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1974. He was of counsel with the firm Otto Beatty & Associates in Columbus Ohio.
He served as a member of the Ohio Governors Commission on African American Males and the Governors Council on Juvenile Justice. He has also testified before the Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Pernell received Franklin & Marshall Colleges prestigious Alumni Citation award in June 2011. Part of the Franklin & Marshall Society of Distinguished Alumni, recipients of the Alumni Citation are distinguished in a particular profession, have provided dedicated leadership and service in the community, and have established an exemplary record of accomplishments in a specific field or endeavor. Prior to Pernell’s selection, there had been 51 recipients of the Alumni Citation award since the inception in 1966. The distinguished list includes Roy Scheider, known for his role as Chief Martin Brody in the Jaws movie franchise; Congressman William H. Gray, III, (D) Pennsylvania, 1979-1991; and Vice Admiral James A. Zimble, M.D., United States Navy (Retired).
Pernell received a special award for his work as an advocate, academician, leader and dean, during the Third National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference in 2010, a monumental event which occurs only once every five years. He has written law review articles in the areas of criminal procedure, juvenile justice, personal injury and sports law, and authored the Civil Procedure Forms Supplement for West Ohio Practice from 1978 to 1986. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and past-trustee of the Law School Admissions Council.